Hillbilly dual sport ride

[troy]

Just think how good you will feel when your nibbling on a Manns wiener...

Real mature, David. Really mature.

[MacWildcat]

Thought I would post a compilation of all the threads containing pertinent information, save all of us some time reading through all the threads.


Eureka Springs, Arkansas. April 2-3-4 is the weekend we picked this year. Usually a Thursday afternoon ride for 5 to 10 of us, then the two main days are Friday & Sat where a whole bunch of riders show up. Please come join us you will love the area.

The Travelers Inn is the host hotel. Call 1--800--643--5566 to book a room. Last year we almost filled the place up and they have 60 rooms. 45$ plus tax gets you a room with 2 queen beds. Gary the guy who runs the place says to say you are with " backroads touring " and you will get put right next to the other hoodlums attending. He also said he booked the Swedish bikini team to help out with backrubs and such (not). We also get to use their meeting room for our breakfast which they provide, and any meeting or BS sessions we have.
Just as a little legal disclaimer--------- this ride is nothing more than a group of like minded people getting together to celebrate life. No groups or people are in charge, and what you do at this ride is totally up to you. YOU are responsible for what you do or don't do as far as attending goes. We all want to ride and have fun, so smile, be nice, and be safe."

"I have two dual-sport routes created for Friday and Saturday. I also have a tentative route created for Saturday for anyone interested in riding more trails. We would trailer down to the White Rock/Mill creek area and spend the day riding easy to moderate difficulty trails. This route would require both a trail-worthy bike and a competent rider. I have ridden these trails on a DR650, anything larger/heavier would be a lot of work. Adequate bike protection and knobby tires will be a must.

For the dual-sport rides, 50-50 tires or DOT knobbies will make your experience and your riding partners day more enjoyable. The DS routes are approximately 200 mile loops each day, being able to navigate poor road surfaces helps finish the day.. Weather and riding conditions can be pretty variable in April, be prepared for anything from dry sand, loose gravel on top of solid rock or gumbo mud (tires, tires, tires). Last year we got a little wet ( I think I dried out sometime in June!). We have also experienced temperatures in the high 20's in the morning, to 70's in the afternoon.

A helmet, boots, gloves and good jacket are the minimum protection you will need. Any additional body protection you have will only keep you safer. In the past few years we have been lucky, only a few minor bumps, bruises and sprains. There are usually a few water crossings, boulder fields, and steep hills. Did I mention good tires?

The routes are created with MapSource. I will have the routes available later for downloading. If you have experience following a GPS route consider leading a group of your fellow riders. We always need route leaders. There are definite advantages, you get to see everything first and you don't suck dust all day! The optimum group size is 5-7 bikes, anything larger seems to slow down the pace. With the distances we are covering a good consistent pace will get you done is about 10 hours. If you finish the entire route you have something to smile about. There are plenty of opportunities to take a shortcut home if only want to ride part of the routes."

"The routes are completed! The route were created in the old MapSource Roads and Rec software so t will work with nwere versons of MapSource.

http://members.cox.net/jklm/Mapsource/Eureka09.gdb


There is a little explanation to go along with the different routes listed:

Both days rides have the route divided into two parts;
JasperA and JasperB
WhiteRck09a and WhiteRck09B

I divided the routes in two parts because we have had problems in the past with some GPS units having limited waypoints per route. You can tell if you try loading a route and get the message "Route Truncated" When you try to view the route on the GPS, not all the route will show.

The first part of the White Rock route has a alternative route (WhiteRckAltA) that shortcuts about 35 miles on pavement in order to get down to the White Rock area sooner Ths route also includes a section that is pretty rough and rocky. It also loops down around Shores Lake.
There is also a small alternate loop for the Jasper ride and the White Rock ride that are more difficult. Both alternate loops have waypoints listed at the beggining and end so you know when you reach them.
The Jasper section (AltJasper) is near Parthenon and includes a steep, long uphill section that can be pretty difficult on a large bike, or mild treaded tires.
The White Rock loop (HardWhiteRock)is a abandoned road that is pretty difficult. This could be a real workout and should not be attempted on a big bike.

I abandoned the full trail ride of White Rock. The logistics were going to be difficult. If anyone wants the route for their own use, send me a PM."

"The time is drawing near! Hope everyone is shaking the winter cobwebs off the bikes, preparing them for a couple days of Ozark fun. There is a couple more items concerning this get together.
1) I developed routes so that gas stops are no further than 100 miles apart. The gas stops are all based on past gas availability, we have been surprised before when there wasn't gas where we had fueled up in past years. We will make adjustments when this occurs. My best advise would be to top off the tank whenever we come across the opportunity for fuel. If you know your bike has less than 100 mile capability, if possible plan to carry a small auxiliary supply. There is usually enough KLR super tankers along that we can do some siphoning if needed.
2) If you are looking for maps that will give you decent road detail, I suggest the Delorme Gazetteer. It's a pretty good all purpose map, but it does have it's flaws. Like stated in a earlier post, counties have ways of changing road designations. The Delorme is also notorious for showing minor roads that haven't existed since the 1950's. (Just ask Uncle Dave, I took him down a couple doozie that we both were thankful we survived. Had us thinking the only way we were getting our bikes out was going to be in pieces.) I am making up small section maps that cover all the routes on four 8X11 pages. I'll have copies ready for the ride leaders (another perk to leading a group!).
The Ozark Nat'l forest maps have more up to date info/better detail than the Delorme but unfortunately doesn't cover the entire area we will be riding.
3) I will have ride waivers available Thursday night. The best part of the waiver is the cell number and emergency contact info at the bottom. Comes in handy during the ride if something happens or a group gets separated. It will e up to the individual ride leaders if they want the folks riding along with them to fill out a waiver. I'll try to get a sign up sheet for us so I can write up a ride report with some basic info about the group after we get back."

[MacWildcat]

I thought of a few things to contemplate packing after past experiences at the HillBilly tour.

http://picasaweb.google.com/MacWildcat/ ... kfKJ84GNRQ#

[tcarlgren]

What time will we need to arrive by to catch the Thursday afternoon ride? I'll be heading down from KC which looks like about a 4 to 4.5 hr trip.

Thanks,
Todd.

[MacWildcat]

It's usually 1-2 pm before we get settled in and ready for a short ride on Thursday. I don't think there is any set route yet, just a casual warm up ride.

[MacWildcat]

Dang, I had to unpack the snow shovel.

[Hank Moody]

Looks like you guys will have great weather for the ride. I would like to see pictures and a ride report when you are done.

http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/fin ... ct=WEATHER

Be safe!

[NewBoots]

I just got back from a great Dual Sport ride. Would like to thank Dave and Larry for doing all the work.
THANK YOU GUYS
Bucky

[katbeanz]

Thanks for a great time! I really enjoyed the Castle Bluffs area over by Jasper. I chickened out on the Little Buffalo Crossing and turned around then got a sudden rear flat. I pulled out a 20d nail that the way it was bent made an entry and exit wound so slime didn't help with the second hole. I found a block of styrofoam packing blown up against a fence, that and some rocks made a pretty stable workstand.

[MacWildcat]

Had a great time again! I think the weather and road conditions are the best I have ever experienced for the Hill Billy tour. Thanks to everyone that made this a successful ride. Here's a link to my pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/MacWildcat/ ... iLOn_qvINA#

David and I had a chance on the ride home to discuss how to make this ride even better. We may have come up with a solution to get us into the really good riding areas quicker, with less overall miles each day. I know I would enjoy a chance to spend more time at scenic vistas along the way. I always feel pressured to finish the full route, this year we almost succeeded, but opted out at the very end both days.

We might be asking a few of you local folks to point out some particularly good spots once we have a general idea where next year's routes will be headed.

Hope to get a chance to ride with some of you some more this year!

[Savage]

Tell that guy not to piss on camera next year. lol
What kind of bike is that old blue one?

Nice pics!

[Hank Moody]

Was that an IT Yamaha I saw??? I had a 1978 IT 250e back in the day and man was that a bike! I had a Terry fork kit and white brothers revalved the old monoshock.

[MacWildcat]

Yep, a 1977 IT250. Duane gets the "He Man" award. He rode all three days, close to 500 miles. Every time I looked back he was was right behind me. The bike was amazing, held it's own next to machines 30 years newer.

[BeemerBill]

THANK YOU...THANK YOU...THANK YOU, David H. and MacWildcat. We just got back from riding your Eureka Springs Hillbilly Ride. There were four of us, Fred Mays, Doug Bump, Jeremy Kurkson and myself. Fred down loaded your GPS tracks and did a FANTASTIC job of following them. We rode Jasper 09A and Jasper 09B the first day, covered 200 miles. We only had to make a couple of turn-a-rounds. We did Whiterock 09A and Whiterock 09B on the second day, coving 210 miles, again with only a couple of turn-a-rounds.... It took us a little while to figure out getting around where the bridge is gone over that one river, but we talked with a farmer there and he gave us directions that took us over a great route to get back on the trail on the other side. On the first day, we came upon a creek that was flowing a LOT of water and was MUCH deeper than we cared to try to cross, we checked but could not find ANY signs of where motorcycles had tried to cross there from the original ride, so we had to find a way around that too. Other than those turn-a-rounds, we (I say we, but I should say Fred) were able to follow your routes very well. Again great job of laying them out guys. The weather was great, started out cool and nice, but got almost warm in the afternoon. Luckily there was a nice breeze both days, (WE CALL IT A NICE BREEZE IN Kansas, but there the locals were concerned that it was SO WINDY...L.O.L.)... so that helped some with the dust, as it was pretty dusty.... We had only one mishap, that being 4 miles from finishing the last day, Bump got a flat on the rear of his Suzuki, just 4 miles from the end, can you believe it ? Any way, We want to thank Fred for doing such a GREAT job of leading us, covering 410 miles, a couple of long days, but they were fantastic rides. THANKS once again David and Larry... I guess I should add here that we were at last years Hillbilly Ride and planned on being there again this year, but were among those that let the local weathermen talk us out of going because of concern for the weather.... "STINKING WEATHERMEN ANYWAY..."

[MacWildcat]

Glad you enjoyed the routes. The water crossings sure can be a variable down there. We're already thinking about next year. Hopefully we can make the routes even more fun. I'm looking for ways to spend more time in the prime riding areas.